The Difference a Year Makes to a PRIME Graduate

With 2019 just beginning, I’ve been reflecting on the past year and all that I have achieved. When I completed my Brodies’ summer placement application at the end of 2017, little did I realise it would result in me being offered a traineeship with the firm in 2020. I feel incredibly proud and lucky to have achieved this.

My hopes of securing a traineeship with Brodies, however, did not begin during my summer placement, but instead during a week’s work placement with PRIME at Brodies’ Edinburgh office in 2014. PRIME is a UK-wide project that improves access to the legal profession through work experience, and offers an opportunity for secondary students to gain experience of life at a law firm.

Throughout the week-long experience, I took part in workshops with various departments in the firm, including employment and family law. This confirmed for me that law was definitely my chosen career path. Moreover, gaining legal experience is something that universities consider on UCAS applications; the opportunity with PRIME was an invaluable experience to add to my application.

I am incredibly grateful that, at the beginning of my career path in law, I was able to gain experience with such an incredible firm. Comparing where I started during that PRIME week to where I am now, having completed a summer placement and secured a traineeship, I feel proud to have experienced such a challenging and exciting journey. Brodies has played a vital and influential role, and I thoroughly look forward to continuing that journey with the firm as a trainee in 2020.

Lucy Rice is a proud PRIME graduate and now a trainee lawyer at founder firm Brodies. You can read Lucy’s full blog here.